California Budget Crisis

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Good Morning! It’s Monday, May 20. Here’s What We’re Following Today

✔  Budget Crisis Wars: Gov. Newsom Against the State

✔  Unionizing the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney Workers Vote Yes!

✔  A European Royal Family Mystery in Malibu.

✔   Why your ‘Google Search’ is looking different this morning?

Have a great day!

Netter News Team

STATE BUDGET CRISIS

From teachers' unions and health care unions to organizations supporting children and underserved communities, it seems Governor Gavin Newsom is being targeted by every group that receives state funding in California.

It’s Bad, Really Bad

At issue is the state’s massive budget crisis. Newsom said the state is in the hole $44.9 billion. However, the Legislative Analysts office projects California is more like $55 billion in debt for the upcoming fiscal year which begins July 1.

Anyway you shake it, it’s a mess and many state-funded programs will be cut.

The Teachers Launch Offensive

That takes us to the teachers. Today, the state’s biggest union is expected to launch a public offensive against the Governor’s plan, warning it could wreak havoc on the state’s public schools (upwards of $12 Billion in potential cuts). This marks a turning point in Newsom’s normally congenial relationship with the unions.

Health Care Cuts: “Takes Us Out at the Knees”

Another area under fire is the healthcare sector, where at least $300 million in cuts will take place- critics said it would “take us out at the knees”. But one area not impacted is the full health insurance plan for undocumented immigrants through Medi-Cal. This costs taxpayers more than $6.5 billion a year.

What’s Next

Starting today, state lawmakers will conduct hearings on Newsom’s budget proposals. They have until June 15 to approve it.

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POLITICS, ECONOMY, EDUCATION & SCIENCE

DISNEYLAND CHARACTERS UNIONIZE

Turns out Disneyland is not the happiest place on earth, at least when it comes to the workers who walk the grounds as theme park’s most beloved characters.

Over the weekend, the actors who portray Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Elsa, Chewbacca, and others voted overwhelmingly to unionize by a vote of 953 to 258. They will be represented by the same union that represents actors on Broadway.

Workers had said their base pay, which was around $20.00 an hour was no match for the cost of living in Southern California.

TAXPAYER MONEY FOR LEGAL AID

The Los Angeles County Supervisors have approved taxpayer money to pay for the legal bills of anti-Israel protesters who were arrested at UCLA.

Yes, these are the same folks (200+ students and faculty) who were responsible for the vandalism, violence, and occupation of the campus for more than a week.

DOWNTOWN LA BLIGHT

We’ve been reporting on the blight in downtown Los Angeles since we started this newsletter. The biggest issue, perhaps now, is a pair of towers affectionately called “Graffiti Towers”. They have attracted criminals, the homeless, and even base jumpers.

But now, a man has decided to lay a tightrope between the skyscrapers in a move he calls “art”. You probably saw this all over your social media feeds.

Now, developer Rick Caruso is calling this a crime and is wondering why LAPD isn’t doing anything, like arresting Ben Schneider, the so-called “performance artist” who filmed himself on the slackline. As for the LAPD, they told NBC 4 they are not the security guard for the developer of this property.

‘Grafitti Towers’ are now for sale but Caruso said he doesn’t know anyone interested in developing in the downtown LA area.

SAN DIEGO BEACH CLASS BATTLE

In San Diego, there’s a battle brewing over beach rights. At issue is whether groups like yoga classes, students, and others should be able to gather on the beach to meet. The city says, nope.

What you need to know

📌Park officials and police started handing out tickets, enforcing an ordinance the city revised in March primarily targeting food trucks and food vendors.

📌The code prohibits four or more people engaged in commercial or recreational activities (including fitness classes and dog training) without a permit.

What’s Next

Will this impact summer camps, or groups of parents who meet for play dates? That’s even something park officials aren’t sure. Some of the yoga instructors are planning to sue or petition the city to change the ordinance.

HOT TAKES

🚨 IRANIAN PRESIDENT CRASH: The Iranian president is presumed dead this morning after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of Northwest Iran. The helicopter was carrying the President of Iran and several top government officials when it went down in bad weather Sunday.

🚨 EUROPEAN ROYALTY MYSTERY: In Malibu, the stepfather of the princess of Greece’s royal family has disappeared. 53-year-old Attilio Brillembourg vanished at 1 am Saturday and there is concern for his well-being.

🚨 OPENAI IMPLOSION: This morning, a new report says the OpenAI Team in charge of safeguarding humanity is imploding and many safety-conscious employees are leaving the San Francisco-based tech company.

🚨 GOOGLE UNVEILS GEMINI: Google is all in AI and that means big changes to the look of your internet searches. How the new AI tool “Gemini” will appear as summaries in all default search results.

🚨 GAS PRICES: GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS: Gas prices across California are creeping down a bit. And when we say creeping, we mean like by half a cent (average still over $5.20). But we will take it.

GOLDEN STATE GLOW

• 🌴 In an act of goodwill, a driver who toppled a historic salt tram tower in Death Valley National Park has turned themselves into park officials. The driver said they hitched their car to the 113-year-old structure to pull themselves out of a deep pocket of mud and they didn’t mean to damage it.

• 🌴 California’s oldest roller coaster is celebrating its 100th birthday! The Giant Dipper turned 100 on May 18 and there is no doubt it’s the most popular ride on the Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk.

• 🌴 The space tourism industry is back in action! Blue Origin launched a six-person crew into orbit marking its first flight since 2022. Among the crew was Ed Dwight, a former Air Force captain chosen by President Kennedy in 1961 as NASA’s first Black Astronaut candidate. Despite not making it to space back then, he finally achieved his dream Sunday.

 🗓THIS DAY IN CALI-HISTORY

May 20: 

• 1873: On this day in San Francisco, Levi Strauss received the patent for blue jeans, marking the beginning of a clothing revolution, along with his partner, tailor Jacob Davis.

• 2013: 11 years ago, Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, bought Tumblr for a whopping $1.1 Billion. Fast forward to 2023, and the blogging platform sold for $3 million. Now that is what you call a fire sale!